cryptorchidism

cryptorchidism
cryptorchid, adj.
/krip tawr"ki diz'euhm/, n. Pathol.
failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum.
Also, cryptorchism /krip tawr"kiz euhm/.
[1880-85; < NL cryptorchidismus, equiv. to crypt- CRYPTO- + orchid- ( < Gk orchid-; see ORCHID) + -ismus -ISM]

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also called  cryptorchism,  undescended testes , or  undescended testicles 

      disorder in which one or both of the testes (testis) do not descend spontaneously to the usual position in the scrotum. (The testes normally descend around the time of the male infant's birth.) Usually only one testis fails to descend into the scrotum; the other, descended testis suffices to ensure the individual's normal male sexuality. Cases in which both testes fail to descend are rare and are more serious, since undescended testes are usually nonfunctional (i.e., produce few or no sperm), and the development of normal male sexuality is thus threatened. An undescended testis remains within the inguinal canal or in the abdominal cavity. Besides being nonfunctional, an undescended testis is more likely to be injured, and the blood supply to it is more likely to be cut off by twisting. Also, testicular cancer is 5 to 10 times more likely to develop in an undescended testis, even if the condition is corrected through surgery.

      Gonadotropin and surgical therapy are the primary treatments. Human chorionic gonadotropin can help evoke maturation of the external genitals, and, in many cases of testes located in the inguinal canal, the testes move into the scrotum subsequent to this drug therapy. If medication fails, surgical treatment is used to move the undescended testis down into the scrotum manually. Both drug therapy and this procedure are best performed before the patient is two years of age. The sperm production of the now-descended testis after therapy may be lower than normal in some cases, but fertility is usually unimpaired.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Cryptorchidism — A condition in which one or both testicles fail to move from the abdomen, where they develop before birth, into the scrotum; also called undescended testicles. Boys who have had cryptorchidism that was not corrected in early childhood are at… …   Medical dictionary

  • cryptorchidism — A condition in which one or both testicles fail to move from the abdomen, where they develop before birth, into the scrotum. Cryptorchidism may increase the risk for development of testicular cancer. Also called undescended testicles …   English dictionary of cancer terms

  • cryptorchidism — also cryptorchism noun Date: circa 1882 a condition in which one or both testes fail to descend normally …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • cryptorchidism — noun The failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum …   Wiktionary

  • cryptorchidism — n. failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum (Medicine) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • cryptorchidism — noun Medicine a condition in which one or both of the testes fail to descend from the abdomen into the scrotum. Derivatives cryptorchid noun Origin C19: from crypto + Gk orkhis, orkhid testicle + ism …   English new terms dictionary

  • cryptorchidism — cryp·tor·chi·dism …   English syllables

  • cryptorchidism — cryptorchism; n. the condition in which the testes fail to descend into the scrotum and are retained within the abdomen or inguinal canal. The operation of orchidopexy is necessary to bring the testes into the scrotum before puberty in order to… …   The new mediacal dictionary

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